Year 12s: what will be the first way you research your future options? >>

Personal Statement word count.

How many words would you guess the average personal statement is?

I know you can have 4000 characters but i'm up to 1750 and i've ran out of things to say. Would that be to short to submit?

Reply 1

watjam01

well mines 661 words and it fits bang on to the word limit. Are you sure you have included all of your extra curricular stuff/ work experience etc :biggrin:

Reply 2

andyroo_g

LeeShe

How many words would you guess the average personal statement is?

I know you can have 4000 characters but i'm up to 1750 and i've ran out of things to say. Would that be to short to submit?

There's no minimum limit but it could look bad if you can't fill the whole thing. I'd recommend finding other things to write about so you can get it at least somewhere near the 4000 mark

Reply 3

Good bloke

You are confusing words and characters a bit. In any event, you shouldn't keep the 4,000 characters in mind. This would lead to an unreadable statement. Of far more importance is the 47 line limit, and a well-written, properly formatted statement (with blank lines between the paragraphs) on this limit is normally about 3,000 to 3,500 characters long.

Yours sounds a bit on the short side, to be honest.

Reply 4

Juno

andyroo_g

There's no minimum limit but it could look bad if you can't fill the whole thing. I'd recommend finding other things to write about so you can get it at least somewhere near the 4000 mark

Dont say things just for the sake of saying them. I you've got nothing relevant to say it's better to leave it short. However, 1750 characters does seem a litte too short.

Reply 5

coolh5000

Mine is just about at the 4000 character limit and is 692 words.

Mine is so long because I am applying for joints honours and to Cambridge. Plus, I just had a lot to say about extra curricular and things.

1750 sounds a little short but you don't want to add extra just for the sake of it if it'll just make it sound waffly. Have you written enough about your subject and have you included things like your extra curricular, things which make you suitable for the course etc?

Show it to a teacher and see what they think.

Reply 6

LeeShe

I think the reason mine is so short is because i'm struggling to write about why i want to do the subject. Other than sayings 'it's interesting' im finding it hard to express why i like it so much.

Reply 7

Georgie_Mc

Look at prospectuses, they are a good help when writing about the subject.
Im having the opporsite problem
4 lines over =/
x

Reply 8

andyroo_g

Seperate the subjects into the parts you liked - perhaps the modules and why you like them. Go into specifics on the subject you're applying for and it'll show that you have a proper idea about the subject and a passion for it.